Russian-American lobbyist was at Trump Jr.'s meeting with Russian lawyer

When Donald Trump Jr. met with Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya last June at Trump Tower to gather information on Hillary Clinton for his father's presidential campaign, it's now clear there was at least one more Russian in the room.

According to the timeline released by the Department of Homeland Security, the Obama Justice and Homeland Security departments granted her a special type of "parole" to be in the US from September 2015 through February 2016 to work on a court case in NY.

Veselnitskaya confirmed to CNN and MSNBC that Kushner attended the meeting but said he was there for only "seven to 10 minutes" and she had never meant to hand over damaging information about Clinton anyway.

The latest revelation adds another shift to the tale that has sparked questions over the Trump campaign's ties to Russian Federation.

Akhmetshin has been described as a Russian "gun for hire" and a former Soviet-era spy and has worked in the West for years as an advocate for Russian interests.

The president also said the meeting was one "most people in politics would have taken".

Akhmetshin told AP he does not know if Veselnitskaya's documents were provided by the Russian government.

"House Democrats are not going to let the Republicans off the hook for their complicity in this", House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-California, said at a press conference with her colleagues.

House Democrats renewed calls for a vote on an independent commission to investigate Russia's interference in the USA election and ties to the Trump administration during their Friday morning press conference, with Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi saying Republicans "have become enablers of the violations of our Constitution".

Russian President Vladimir Putin decided not to retaliate immediately, saying he would wait to see what the new administration of Donald Trump would do. Akhmetshin has denied reports claiming he's a former Russian counterintelligence officer.

The Russian government has denied any involvement in or knowledge of the June 2016 meeting. He denies ever serving in such a capacity. "That is not correct", Akhmetshin told The Associated Press. He said he's willing to talk with the Senate Judiciary Committee, whose chairman has pressed the Justice Department about why Akhmetshin has not registered as a foreign agent. Akhmetshin served in the Soviet military and emigrated to the USA, where he holds dual citizenship, NBC reported.

The White House plans to hire attorney Ty Cobb as part of its internal legal team to manage matters related to the ongoing investigations into Russian election interference and possible collusion with the Trump campaign, a White House official confirmed to ABC News.